Peter Sarsgaard has done it all. Across his nearly 30-year career, the actor, who made his screen debut in 1995's Dead Man Walking, has starred in movies of all shapes and sizes; he's played villains opposite Tom Cruise and Denzel Washington in blockbusters like Knight and Day and The Magnificent Seven, respectively, and with roles in Green Lantern and The Batman, he is no stranger to comic book films, either. At once, Sarsgaard has made Oscar-lauded dramas like Boys Don't Cry, An Education, and Jackie his bread and butter.
"I definitely get something from each kind of experience, but acting in a smaller movie is way easier for me," Sarsgaard observes. "I know not everyone feels that way. I guess it depends on if you're somebody who likes to work on the same thing over and over until it's polished, or if you are somebody who likes to do a one-off every time and see how it went. I'm more of a one-off guy."
His latest role is in Memory, for which Sarsgaard won the Volpi Cup for Best Actor at the 2023 Venice Film Festival. Of his experience shooting the Michel Franco-directed drama, in which the actor stars as a man with dementia, he says, "It feels like you can be looser and hold the steering wheel with one finger."
"When I was acting in Memory, if I happened to weep in one take, I didn't have to do that the next time," he explains. "It's a bigger challenge when I work on something where we're shooting the same scene for five days in a row, and if you've made the stupid choice of weeping on day one, that means you have to do that again every single other day."
Below, Sarsgaard shares with A.frame five of his favorite films, highlighting the actors whose performances have most inspired him and the directors that he most admires. "There are so many filmmakers I'm dying to work with," he says. "Whatever currency I keep amassing as an actor, I want to spend it on interesting collaborations."
Directed by: Randal Kleiser | Written by: Bronté Woodard
My first favorite actor was John Travolta, because I was super into dancing as a kid and I was always dancing. In fact, I've always really thought of him as a dancer. He is, of course, and Grease has always ranked pretty high on my list of favorite movies. I just rewatched it again with my girls the other night, and it's just so playful and great.
Directed by: Tony Bill | Written by: Alan Ormsby
My Bodyguard stars Adam Baldwin and Matt Dillon, but it's got a truly great performance in it from Ruth Gordon. I'm of the opinion that, if you wanted to, you could basically just watch any Ruth Gordon movie and be in pretty good shape.
Directed by: Jim Sheridan | Written by: Terry George and Jim Sheridan
In the Name of the Father is a movie that I love. I remember the first time I watched Daniel Day-Lewis in that scene on the rooftop with the Jimi Hendrix song playing. It was a great example of really exalting someone and creating a real cinematic hero. He looks more heroic in that movie than any Marvel character I've ever seen on-screen. That was cinema to me.
Directed by: Elia Kazan | Written by: Budd Schulberg
When I think of On the Waterfront, I actually think of Rod Steiger in the back of the car with Marlon Brando. People tend to look at the flashiest thing in a scene, but none of what happens in that conversation would make any sense had there not been a guy talking back to Brando's character and listening to him. It's so good. I've always admired actors who are able to let the other person be the shiny thing in a scene and support them extremely well. I think there's real craft in doing that. So, Rod Steiger is someone that I've always really appreciated.
Directed by: Thomas Vinterberg | Written by: Thomas Vinterberg and Mogens Rukov
I love the way that The Celebration was shot. It came along at a time when cinema was loosening up a little bit and it reflected that, even though it was made under very strict rules. I really like the speech that's given at the wedding in the film. I like Thomas Vinterberg's work a lot, and I like the way he shoots his movies.
